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A vivid and finely detailed bird’s-eye view of Algiers as it appeared in the early modern period, issued by Matthäus Merian. Oriented to the south, the fortified city is shown nestled between two hills and enclosed by a polygonal bastioned wall system. The distinctive Islamic architecture of the casbah is interspersed with prominent domed and minareted buildings. Outside the walls, gardens, rural estates, and two detached star forts—possibly El Bordj and Fort de l’Empereur—anchor the surrounding terrain.
In the harbor, Ottoman galleys and a European merchant vessel suggest Algiers’ role as both a corsair stronghold and a commercial hub of the Mediterranean. The port is protected by a long mole and sea walls, and artillery batteries line the fortifications.
Originally published by Braun and Hogenberg in the late 16th century, this view was later re-engraved and issued by Merian as part of his own topographical enterprise. The title cartouche appears at top center, with a compass rose and Latin sea labeling—Mare Libicum Mediterraneum—at foot.
A highly decorative and historically resonant representation of Algiers under Ottoman rule, produced at a time when the city was infamous for privateering and its semi-autonomous status within the empire.
Matthäus Merian (1593-1650) was the father of engravers Matthäus the Younger and Caspar, and of the painter, engraver, and naturalist Maria Sibylla Merian. He was born in Basel, Switzerland and trained in engraving in Zurich. After a time in Nancy, Paris and Strasbourg, he settled in Frankfurt. While there, he worked for Johann Theodor de Bry, the publisher and son of the travel writer. In 1617, he married Maria Magdalena de Bry, Johann Theodor’s daughter. In 1623, Merian took over the de Bry publishing house upon the death of his father-in-law. Merian’s best known works are detailed town views which, due to their accuracy and artistry, form a valuable record of European urban life in the first half of the sixteenth century
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